David Gordon Green Exits ‘Exorcist’ Sequel as Universal, Blumhouse Search for New Director

EXCLUSIVE: Former Blue Ant Media execs Solange Attwood and Asha Daniere have launched an “internationally-focused, next generation studio business” out of Canada.

Marta Balaga Please don’t stop the music: Anne Fontaine isn’t done with it just yet. Following “Boléro” — world premiering at International Film Festival Rotterdam — the noted director is developing another melodic project. “It’s about a character who was a star at 10 years old.

Saudi Arabia side Al-Shabab are reportedly willing to offer former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea a return to football.

Marcus Rashford missed Manchester United's 4-2 FA Cup win over Newport County at Rodney Parade on Sunday.

Maria Kyriacou, Paramount Global‘s President, Broadcast & Studios, International Markets, is exiting the U.S. studio after four years, as it prepares to slim down its international originals offering.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The CEO of Paramount Global urged staffers at the entertainment conglomerate to focus on their 2024 business goals, even as a handful of industry heavy hitters and investment firms explore a potential acquisition of the company and speculation about looming layoffs intensifies. In a memo issued to employees Thursday and reviewed by Variety, Bob Bakish acknowledged that Paramount’s future “remains a topic of speculation,” a nod to the fact that a group of investors led by Skydance founder David Ellison have engaged in talks with Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone.

Nick Holdsworth There is a certain inevitability about a film inspired by Hermann Hesse’s novel “Steppenwolf,” first published in German in 1927, and two famous Westerns of the 1950s — John Ford’s “The Searchers,” and Howard Hawks’ “Red River.” In acclaimed Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s latest film — also called “Steppenwolf” — two characters who are essentially loners existing outside of the usual moral boundaries of the world come together united in a common task: to save a small boy who has gone missing. The world premiere of “Steppenwolf” is slated for International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Big Screen Competition.

West Ham are close to agreeing a loan deal for Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, as the Manchester Evening News reported earlier today.

Valerie Wu Intern Andrew Scott is Tom Ripley in the first trailer for Netflix’s coming psychological thriller series “Ripley,” which debuted its first teaser Monday morning. The Patricia Highsmith adaptation was originally set up at Showtime, but was acquired by Netflix in a sale between the companies. Directed and written by Steven Zaillian, who most recently penned Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” the series follows Scott’s Ripley, described as “a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York.” The plot follows his relationship with a wealthy man traveling in Italy with a troubled relationship with his son.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief First-time mainland Chinese director Lin Jianjie (aka JJ Lin) makes a splash this weekend with the premiere of his “Brief History of a Family.” Asking questions about family in the era since the end of China’s ‘One Child Policy,’ while also borrowing genre tropes such as the idea of the intruder and blood, it is a polished and ultra-modern fable that sees a teenage schoolboy ingratiate himself into another boy’s family.Variety spoke to biologist-turned-filmmaker Lin on the eve of his Sundance debut.How did you get from zero to making your first feature?[After graduating in biology] I did two short films at film school. I went to Tisch Asia, which had a campus in Singapore. We also had an exchange program with Tisch in New York.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pitch International have signed a package of rights that will see them broadcast live international cricket hosted in India on its linear and digital platforms, TNT Sports and Discovery+, for the next five years.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Toni Servillo, who played Roman socialite Jep Gambardella in Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning “The Great Beauty,” will appear as Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro, dubbed “the last godfather,” in upcoming drama “Iddu” directed by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (“Sicilian Ghost Story”). After being on the run for three decades, Messina Denaro was arrested in mid-January 2023 outside an upscale medical facility in Palermo, where he had been undergoing cancer treatment for a year under false identity.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Jean-Claude Van Damme, the global martial artist turned action hero whose 2021 movie “The Last Mercenary” was a hit on Netflix, has another film on the horizon. He will star opposite Michaël Youn (“BDE”) in “Le jardinier,” another high-voltage action-comedy reuniting him with “The Last Mercenary” director David Charhon.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand-based sales and distribution company Black Mandala has picked up international rights to Spanish-language genre film and 2023 festival hit “I’ll Crush Y’All” (aka “Os Reviento”). Portrayed by Mario Mayo, Gabriel, better known as ‘Tarado,’ is a former boxer who lives in a secluded village outside the city with his father and his dog. He could still box, but to avoid what led him to spend a few years in prison, he prefers to lead a quiet life.

Valerie Wu Intern David E. Hoffman, TV writer, author and creator of Food Network shows such as “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” died Jan. 3 at his home in West Hollywood.

Valerie Wu Intern Chad Verdi’s VMI Releasing has acquired the opioid crisis drama “Junction,” which is the directorial debut of “How to Make It in America” actor Bryan Greenberg. Greenberg stars in the film along with Josh Peck, Sophia Bush and his wife Jamie Chung. Under VMI releasing, “Junction” is slated for a theatrical and VOD release on Jan.

EXCLUSIVE: Kristin Jones is leaving The North Road Company, we can reveal.

EXCLUSIVE: Grasshopper Film and streaming platform DOCUMENTARY+ have acquired North American rights to the Oscar-shortlisted feature Apolonia, Apolonia, a deal announced as the nomination voting window opens for the 96th Academy Awards.

Well, this isn’t much of a surprise given the recent box office result of 2023’s “Exorcist: Believer” movie, a reboot and legacy sequel to the original William Friedkin “Exorcist” movie from 1973 made by Blumhouse and Universal. Filmmaker David Gordon Green is exiting the franchise, the search is on for a new filmmaker, and in the interim, Universal has taken the sequel, “The Exorcist: Deceiver” sequel, off the calendar.